Young Jacob a phoenix in Weston ashes

Chris Dutton

WESTON CREEK skipper Adam Rynehart has declared his team's outright loss to Eastlake as the most embarrassing match of his 150-game career at Stirling Oval.

But while the rebuilding team struggled in the first match of the two-day competition, the shining light for Rynehart was the emergence of 15-year-old Kevin Jacob as a future star.

Weston Creek failed to recover from its horror batting performance last weekend as Eastlake cruised to a nine-wicket outright victory on Saturday.

Eastlake needed just 28 runs from the final nine overs of the day to secure all of the points in the fixture.

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The heavy defeat left veteran Rynehart shattered.

''It wasn't the best day Weston Creek has ever had,'' he said. ''I've played about 150 games at Stirling and that's the first time I've ever experienced an outright defeat.

''It feels embarrassing to say the least. I don't think you print the words that were said in the change room. It's tough … the boys have the skills to be really good, it's a matter of flicking a switch and making it happen.''

Weston Creek scored just 110 runs in its first innings and Eastlake passed the total with ease last weekend. It resumed on Saturday at 5-218 and went on to make 5-283 before Weston Creek was sent back into bat.

Instead of fighting for victory, Weston Creek was left clinging to the hope of holding out the charging Eastlake attack, and it was the young Jacob who stood tall under the pressure.

''I was most impressed with [Jacob], not for the amount of runs he scored but the way he applied himself,'' Rynehart said.

''He showed more ticker than anyone else in the XI … at 15 years old and to bat the way he did, I'm pretty excited for his future.''

While Weston Creek is trying to rebuild, Eastlake is firming as a premiership contender.

Mick Shaw took five wickets from his 32.3 overs as Weston Creek was all out for 201 in its second innings, and with nine overs to get the required 28, Michael Spaseski and Paul O'Malveney wasted no time blasting their way to victory.

It was the perfect start to the two-day competition as Eastlake aims for the finals. ''It was a fantastic effort from the boys on both days,'' Tett said. ''We set it up on day one and got that opportunity for an outright victory. We've had a good start to the year, but we're not going to get ahead of ourselves.''